People came forward to support us after Section 377 was struck down, says Chennai couple

Last year's Supreme Court judgement to strike down Section 377 of the Criminal Procedure Code brought a sense of jubilation among the LGBTQ community. Nasser and Nasreen, a couple from Chennai credit the historical judgement for their happily married life.

A year and a half ago, Nasser, a transman and Nasreen decided to get married amidst staunch opposition from their families and the society as a whole.

Sharing their struggles, Nasser said, "We faced a very difficult time when we planned to get married. Both of our parents and family members opposed the idea. We ran away to Kerala to save ourselves one and a half year back."

"Soon after, we heard about the judgement on section 377 and some people came forward to support us. Today, we are happily married," Nasser stated.

The couple is now living happily as a married couple in Chennai for over a year.

Nasser's wife, Nasreen said that the judgement should have come a lot more sooner.

"I feel that 377 should have been struck down sooner as that way we would not have undergone all the issues we faced. All the chasing and running would have been avoided," Nasreen said.

Nasreen, however, added that the judgement has enabled countless people from the LGBTQ community to come out of their closet and roam freely.

The couple now demands intervention from the government to educate people about the community.

"I request the government to educate the people. The issue in our country is that the government has not been educating the masses about the community. Moreover, people also fear that if they teach them about LBGTQ communities, then their children will also become gay or lesbian," Nasreen said

"People need to understand that it is not wrong to be lesbian, gay or bisexual but it is about understanding feelings and mentality of the person in front of you," she added.

Nasser, however, stated that even today many people hold a stereotypical mindset which needs to change.

"In spite of few people who came forward to support us, we often find people with a stereotypical mindset and it should be changed," Nasser said.